A recipe for success for Orkney’s school catering team

Orkney’s school catering team has achieved the Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) award for the fifth consecutive year. 

The Food for Life Scotland programme, run by the Soil Association Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, aims to help school catering staff serve freshly prepared meals made from locally produced ingredients that are healthy and sustainable. 

The Orkney team, who have been reaccredited with the Bronze award, have been part of a growing movement of caterers committed to serving food that is good for the climate, nature and young people’s health. 

The certification is an independent endorsement, backed by annual inspections, for food providers who are taking steps to improve the food they serve. 

The catering team serve up around 2,000 hot and nutritious meals daily to pupils across Orkney’s 21 schools and 20 nurseries. 

The Council’s Service Manager for Corporate Catering, Scott Pring, said: “As always, the reaccreditation of this award is down to the significant and ongoing efforts of all staff involved in maintaining the high standard. We are also grateful to the fantastic local suppliers for the quality produce that we are able to source on our doorstep. 

“It’s a lot of work being part of the programme, but the benefits are passed directly onto our children and young people through the offer of freshly prepared meals that we know are healthy and sustainable. This is also about trying to instil good eating habits from a young age that we know are so important in terms of a healthy onward lifestyle.” 

The Food for Life Served Here award recognises councils that are serving school meals which are made from fresh ingredients, use free-range eggs and higher welfare meat, and are free from genetically modified ingredients and undesirable additives. 

Sarah Duley, Head of Food, Food for Life Scotland, said: “We would like to congratulate Orkney Islands Council for renewing their Food for Life Served Here Bronze Award for another year. This is a huge achievement and shows that staff are dedicated to providing pupils with a meal that’s healthy, freshly prepared and sustainably produced. 

“The importance of shopping local is highlighted across the menu; from Williamson’s for Orkney-reared beef to milk sourced from Crantit Dairies, and even their very own Beremeal from Barony Mill, an ancient grain very unique to Orkney. A fantastic achievement in itself and we applaud Orkney Islands Council for this work.” 

Councillor Gwenda Shearer, Chair of Orkney Islands Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, said: “Despite the ongoing financial challenges that all local authorities face, the award is testament to the worth that is placed by this Council on continuing to deliver first-class meals, with the help of local suppliers, to our children and young students. 

“As we remain in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, it’s never been more important for our team to deliver a hot and nutritious school meal to those most in need and they continue to do this whilst reaching Scottish Government standards around nutrition and energy compliance. 

“Well done to all involved in maintaining such a high standard.” 

Ends 

#foodforlifeservedhere @SAfoodforlife   

Note to editors: 

Soil Association Scotland is a sustainable food and farming charity working to transform the way we eat, farm and care for the natural world. The Soil Association was founded in 1946 by farmers, scientists, doctors and nutritionists to promote the connection between the health of the soil, food, animals, people and the environment. Its Chief Executive is Helen Browning, and Chair of Trustees is Martin Nye.     

Food for Life is a Soil Association initiative which began in 2003 and developed into an award-winning national programme to transform school food culture. In Scotland, the programme has been funded by Scottish Government since 2012. 15 Scottish Local Authorities currently hold Food for Life Served Here certification for their school meals. Food for Life is a leading voice in the campaign for positive change in all areas of food and health.  

The Food for Life Served Here standards are:         

Bronze     

Meals comply with national standards or guidelines on food and nutrition. 

At least 75% of dishes on the menu are freshly prepared (on site or at a local hub kitchen) from unprocessed ingredients. 

All meat is from farms which satisfy UK animal welfare standards. 

No fish are served from the Marine Conservation Society ‘fish to avoid’ list.  

Eggs are from free range hens. 

No undesirable additives or artificial trans fats are used. 

No genetically modified ingredients are used. 

Free drinking water is prominently available. 

Menus are seasonal and in-season produce is highlighted. 

Information is on display about food provenance. 

Menus provide for all cultural and dietary needs.  

All suppliers have been verified to ensure they apply appropriate food safety standards. 

Catering staff are trained in fresh food preparation and understand how Food for Life Served Here works.  

 For more information about the Food for Life Served Here award in Scotland and a full list of organisations who have achieved it, please see our web pages: www.soilassociation.org/our-work-in-scotland/food-for-life-scotland/ 

 For more information about Food for Life Scotland, of which the Food for Life Served Here award forms a part, read our impact report:       

https://www.soilassociation.org/media/26640/ffl_scotland_impactreport2023_5jd_web.pdf